TallGuyJohninBKK

But they used to have those so very nice ads with the attractive stewardesses in those long purple dresses? You mean, that didn't make up for the 30+ hour flight? ????

I think at some point in the process, you need to be able to either get or send an SMS to Paygo on the mobile phone where you have their SIM installed via a connection to their network. I tried their activation process some months back with a mobile here in Thailand, and it simply wouldn't work. I tried sending them an SMS from other devices and on their SIM phone device set to wifi calling, and never made the necessary connection. AFAIK, to activate new service, you do have to be physically in the U.S. and be able to have your mobile device with their SIM installed connect to their network there.

Be curious about others experience with this... Back in the days when we still did intl air travel, the wife and I tried several times to use Grab to book larger SUV-type taxi for trips to the airports from central BKK, and all of those experiences were BAD! On the times we tried, the app would should numerous SUV taxis supposedly available in our area. But when we made the request for the airport trips, none of them accepted the trips. Or, finally, once or twice, some driver did accept the trips, and then didn't show up as the promised time, and then later claimed they'd never received the booking the system said they'd accepted. Maybe / hopefully, it's better now given that they are few tourists in town for the avaracious taxi drivers to hold out hope for. We usually want the SUV type taxis, because we're carrying a lot of heavy luggage for long haul international trips. But at least in our tries, Grab made getting them next to impossible.

I'm not an expert on Grab. But I think, if you pre book thru Grab, the price is basically going to be the same whether they pick you up at your hotel or at a street location out front. It's the regular taxis that hang around outside many hotels in central BKK that you want to avoid, because they often refuse meter trips and will ask ridiculous prices for trips to either airport...figuring they have sucker tourists in their grips who don't know any better.

Last time I was there, which was some time back, the outbound A12 stop was at the far north end of the BTS complex there on the same side of the street you come down on to catch the outbound taxi queue (the park side, not the transit complex side).

And then the DM Red Line station isn't inside the DM Airport (unlike the ARL Station at Suvarnabhumi). So, if you end up at the Red Line station at DM, you're going to have to hike over the highway via an elevated walkway and then across into the actual terminal area. Fine for walking. Not so fine if carrying a lot of luggage.

Don't ever get a regular taxi direct from a hotel in BKK, or you're asking to get ripped, especially in the lower Sukhumvit area that includes Nana. Grab, on the other hand, has pre-set prices for airport trips. Or, just flag down a meter taxi on a main road, and the fare should be normal and reasonable. If the taxi isn't willing to do a straight meter trip, pick another taxi.

Or, for someone starting in the area of BTS Ploenchit, taking the blue line MRT from nearby Sukhumvit station onward to the blue line Bang Sue station, and then transferring there within the same Bang Sue station complex to the Red Line headed to DM might be a bit simpler... My post below is on taking the Red Line to get to BKK CW Immigration via the Laksi station endpoint. But the general process is the same, as the DM station on the Red Line is just a bit further up the line, so to speak. See the specifics here:

Some explanation for the above likely is part of the following news report: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/8-dead-89-infected-covid-outbreak-connecticut-nursing-home-rcna5696 Regarding the deaths: "“Sadly, we have lost 8 residents with serious underlying health issues,” the statement said." Regarding the infections: "All but two of the infected staffers and residents were fully vaccinated. “We are obviously concerned we experienced some level of waning immunity,” the nursing home’s most recent statement said. " The report I'm reading doesn't say WHEN / how long ago the residents of the nursing home had completed their original round of vaccinations. But nursing home residents were among the earliest groups to get vaccinated in many areas of the U.S. So the clock's been ticking.... And, the latest research on the subject has been saying that the elderly / very elderly can tend to have a weaker immune response to vaccinations vs younger folks. Meaning their protections aren't going to be as strong or last as long. And that's the reason many places, including the U.S., recently have begun authorizing 3rd booster shots for older people above some varying ages.... Because they're going to need it.

Perhaps you might also have noticed the following two excerpts in the article you've linked above: "Around 60 per cent of Israel’s population has received two vaccine doses, but infections are on the rise — likely owing to factors such as the increased transmissibility of the Delta variant. " Meaning the about other 40 percent of the country's population has not yet been fully vaccinated. And as regards the next round of boosters: "Professor Salman Zarka, who was appointed Israel’s Chief Covid-19 Officer in July, spoke of the need to roll out second booster shots to Israel’s Kan public radio, but did not propose a timeline in which to do this. "

You know... -- For many months now, COVID has been killing more people in Thailand than road accidents. The road accidents daily average for Thailand is about 50 deaths per day. The daily COVID deaths has been exceeding that on most days for a long time now. Nov. 16 just as one example... though the daily COVID deaths in Thailand got up above 300 per day at their peak back in mid August: https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/ Thailand has already had more than 20,000 COVID deaths just since April 1 of this year. That's equal to a whole year's worth of typical road deaths in Thailand, just in the past eight months. As for the broader picture looking at COVID deaths vs. deaths from other causes, here's what you'll find in the U.S., just as one example. "During the months December 2020, January 2021, and February 2021, COVID-19 was the leading cause of death in the United States based on the average number of daily deaths. Heart disease and cancer are usually the number one and number two leading causes of death, respectively. As of September and October 2021, COVID-19 was the second leading cause of death in the United States after health disease and before cancer." https://www.statista.com/statistics/1254560/leading-causes-of-death-in-the-us-average-number-daily/

@Chris.B @dutchman @Russell17au My Thai wife paid for/booked her two Moderna doses thru a private hospital in BKK, and two days ago received an SMS from the hospital to come this afternoon for her first Moderna shot, which she received earlier this afternoon with no fuss or muss... So the Moderna doses are beginning to trickle out.... at least in BKK. I also have purchased a single Moderna booster from the same hospital, to follow up on my 2nd AZ shot given in early September. Was assured that the hospital would be contacting me in Feb. (6 months after) for my booster dose.

GARC BKK in past/better times: Forgot to mention, there's also the Roadhouse BBQ restaurant in the Saladaeng area. Been there a few times, but usually didn't have BBQ when I was there.

Neither is the Smokin' Pug in BKK.... https://www.smokinpugbbq.com/menu

So, anyone got a substitute favorite BBQ place in lieu of GARC and Pitbull???

Arrrgh!!!!! That's the cry of BBQ sauce stained hands pounding on my desktop in anguish!!!! https://www.facebook.com/PitBullBBQBKK/posts/1251128618732614 They've been having a half-off promotion via FoodPanda on their sandwiches and main dishes lately.... It's been a great deal.... Looks like I'd better HURRY!!!! ????

Ya, now that you mention it, I seem to also remember hearing something from the distant past about their being some inter-family dispute over control of the business and what its future would be.... It's kind of strange how long-time and popular businesses just suddenly disappear at some point, and there often seems to be little to no public mention made of their passing. Sometimes, they even have dead FB pages left up and open long long after the actual business has disappeared.

Ha! That's what set me looking lately, because I'm expecting to be in HH in the near future, and GARC always used to be one of my regular stops when in town... But alas, no more. It was interesting, though, that while noodling around on the subject of BBQ there, I came across mention of another place that there that seems to be very well reviewed... But I've never been there to try it myself as yet, so can't offer any personal review... But here's the info from Google Maps: In Bangkok meanwhile, lately, I've enjoyed doing BBQ takeout from a place called Pitbull. Never gone to the actual shop, but their BBQ pork sandwiches I've had via delivery have been quite good, as was an order of their pork ribs I tried once. Elsewhere in BKK, there's also the Smokin' Pug restaurant, which is popular and well-known, and does good barbecue... But neither of these two places AFAIK have the added Tex-Mex elements that GARC used to have.

Why would you think that? The absence of any credible facts / evidence / reality hasn't stopped those kinds of folks from continuing to believe and advocate all kinds of absurd rubbish and misinformation. Don't see that changing any time soon. What happens when actual medical / scientific research challenges/refutes their unsubstantiated beliefs? "When COVID research results in findings that people don't like, it may lead to ugliness directed at the researchers. Shortly after presenting the [ivermectin] study, McMaster University researcher Edward Mills said he got death threats. “Some people are very unhappy about the findings,” said Mills, a professor of health research methods, evidence and impact. “They believe the drug worked. It has kind of shaken their belief system. It makes them angry.” Death threats were received by 15% of 321 responding scientists in several countries, including the U.S., who responded to an October survey conducted by the journal Nature. The scientists had given media interviews about COVID. Another 22% said they got threats of physical or sexual violence." https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2021/11/15/ivermectin-covid-sen-ron-johnson-medical-conspiracy-theory-aaron-rodgers-covid-19-pierre-kory/8473964002/

As best as I can tell, this long-time pair of American/TexMex style barbecue restaurants in Bangkok and Hua Hin appear to have disappeared sometime in past years. I didn't know they were gone, until I went looking just today and found zippo. Nothing much more recent than 5-6 years back. Don't see anything online in the news about their passing. Anyone know the story of what happened with these two restaurants, and when? Thanks!

I gave up my long-time TextNow free number some months back for lack of use -- especially since I already had/have U.S. numbers from MagicJack, Google Voice, Ting and T-Mobile (the latter via their original $3 a month plan that survives, but is no longer available to new customers). I never really used my free TextNow number to attempt receipt of banking SMS codes. But I thought in past months, I saw other members posting that their TextNow numbers had ceased to work for banking short codes, either entirely, or because they weren't willing to pay a required monthly fee.

the Moderna doses for unvaccinated folks who previously paid for future doses via private hospitals have begun to trickle out, based on various posts here. My Thai wife, unvaccinated at present, reserved and paid for a pair of Moderna doses a month or two back via a private hospital in BKK. Yesterday, she got an SMS from the hospital advising her to come for her first Moderna shot tomorrow/Friday. I'm also on that same hospital's list for a booster shot following two AZ doses earlier this year. But the hospital made it clear they've put the unvaccinated folks to the front of their Moderna queue, and those seeking booster shots such as myself later in line.

Might have more faith in your opinions on this subject if you correctly understood that the AZ vaccine you seem to want to be avoiding is NOT an mRNA vaccine. So, you could get the two Sinopharm doses and then a booster of AZ, and never have an mRNA injection.

Testing to detect COVID is a whole different matter from treatments designed to prevent or inhibit the virus. However, FWIW, when I had a routine dental appointment at a BKK private hospital last week, the dentist had me first rinse my mouth with something that at least looked like some kind of Betadine solution (though I don't know and didn't ask exactly what it was), saying it would lessen the chance of COVID transmission. Of course, I had to be fully vaccinated (I am) or first undergo an ATK test just in order to actually see the dentist. Here's the last I see on the COVID mouthwash issue from late August in TH and last March from the U.S.: https://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news/detail/TCATG210831142927179 Thailand’s Mahidol University Develops Mouthwash to Limit COVID-19 Spread https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210317/Two-mouthwashes-disrupt-COVID-19-virus-under-laboratory-conditions.aspx

These days, there are some U.S. financial institutions whose SMSs for various account activities no longer work with Google Voice. Most of mine still do work with GV, but even I have a few that don't and require some kind of real U.S. mobile number. For the OP, I don't think there's any better deal out there for getting and keeping a real U.S. mobile number to have in Thailand than the $3 a month Paygo SIM. It does need to be first activated in the U.S., but after that, easy to use in Thailand for receiving SMS messages from the U.S. and other needs. PS -- Another alternative for someone who's only got a few instances where their GV number isn't accepted is to see if that/those financial institutions have OTHER means of contact that they'll allow instead of you receiving a mobile SMS message, such as receiving the code by email or voice call or some other means.